Coronavirus: Latest Global Developments

Coronavirus: Latest global developments

Paris, Sept 27 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Sep, 2021 ) :Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: - Biden gets booster - US President Joe Biden, 78, receives a Covid-19 vaccine booster shot, and tells Americans still resisting the shots they are causing "an awful lot of damage for the rest of the country".

- Anti-Covid pill - Pfizer says it has begun a middle-to-late stage clinical trial of a pill to stave off the worst effects of Covid in people who have been infected.

- US recovery will 'take time' - A full US economic recovery "will take time to complete," a top Federal Reserve official says, adding that effects from the far-reaching Delta variant of Covid-19 have surfaced in recent data.

- UK fuel panic - After "panic buying" of petrol due to shortages caused by the lack of lorry drivers caused by Brexit and Covid, Britain's government faces calls to give priority access to healthcare and other essential workers.

- Thailand quarantine cut - Thailand is to cut the quarantine for vaccinated travellers to seven days starting in October, officials say, as it seeks to revive its battered tourism industry.

- Sydney inches to 'freedom' - Vaccinated Sydney residents will finally emerge from a lengthy lockdown by mid-October, Australian officials say, outlining a three-stage "blueprint for freedom" as case numbers fall in the city.

- Qatar Airways aid - Qatar Airways says it received $3 billion (2.6 billion Euros) in state aid to weather the coronavirus travel downturn and to offset losses it blamed on the cost of grounding aircraft.

- More than 4.7 million dead -The coronavirus has killed at least 4,746,385 people since the outbreak emerged in China in December 2019, according to an AFP compilation of official data.

The US is the worst-affected country with 688,033 deaths, followed by Brazil with 594,443, India with 447,194, Mexico 275,450 and Russia with 204,679.